Published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability
Request to hold DeSantis’ administration in contempt is denied in a records case
A Leon County circuit judge this week rejected a request to hold Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in contempt for not providing personal cell-phone records of Chief of Staff James Uthmeier that could relate to a controversial 2022 decision to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts.
Judge J. Lee Marsh denied a motion by the Florida Center for Government Accountability to hold the governor’s office in civil contempt. The one-page order, issued Monday, did not provide a written explanation, with Marsh citing comments he made during a hearing June 18.
The non-profit center filed a public-records lawsuit on Oct. 10, 2022, less than a month after the DeSantis administration flew 49 migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleged that the DeSantis administration had not turned over requested records about the flights.
Marsh in late October 2022 ruled in favor of the center, leading to an appeal by the governor’s office that remains unresolved. The center filed a motion for contempt in December 2022, contending that the governor’s office had not complied with Marsh’s ruling, in part because the office had not provided phone or text logs for Uthmeier’s personal cell phone.